When Stakes Meet Capes
by GargoyleSama
Summary: Xander is designated to be the member of the Reformed Council of Watchers to make Contact with the Justice League. Pairings kept close to the vest for now.
1. Chapter 1

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Buffyverse, or from the DCU. This incarnation is an amalgamation of Comic, Cartoon series, and personal tweaks… The continuity makes as much sense as any that DC has provided… and it may be canon after the next Retcon.

Xander Harris was walking back from his hotel room from the pub. He had a drink there; he would be the first to admit that fact. He didn't drink much, or often. He deserved this drink. He nodded to himself when he thought of the reason. Less than a week ago was the anniversary of him losing his eye. Today was the anniversary of the destruction of Sunnydale, and the Hellmouth under it. That also marked the death of his one time fiancée, and a couple of the potentials, or slayers depending on when they fell. They were right at the one year mark of the official beginnings of the Reformed Council of Watchers.

All those would have been valid reasons of drinking. No one would fault anyone for drinking if they had been involved in any of those situations. Unfortunately Xander Harris couldn't rationalize that was why he had stepped away from his hotel room and down the three blocks to the pub. No, the real reason was because of tomorrow. He had to be 'Official'.

He could do official. Officially, he was head of field operations of the council. He was Big Brother to multiple squads of slayers and their field watchers. He was eyes and ears, and sometimes brains when it came to slayers in combat. Officially, he was the head watcher over the Slayer Prime or the Buffinator as he liked to call her. He wasn't the one that poured over ancient tomes and pondered the different dialects of whatever language they were written in, oh no, he had staff for that. He told them what he wanted, and they delivered, sometimes. When they didn't he was in charge of helping Buffy improvise a solution. Most of the time it was hit it again, and this time harder, or go for the eyes, everything has eyes.

Official with in the smaller case wasn't a problem. It was in the upper case that caused him to have a drink tonight, and then another drink, and then an aperitif afterwards. That led to a slightly buzzed Xander Harris walking back to his hotel room before a meeting as the Official representative of the Reformed Council of Watchers to the Justice League.

There were times that his empty socket bothered him. When it bothered him, it was anywhere from an itchy sensation to a stabbing pain. All of the doctors that he had been sent to said that it was a psychosomatic response to subconscious stimuli. The mystics and witch types that he had visited gave even wilder answers. The one that he had settled on was that it was a type of danger sense on when he was going to do something stupid. Like in the next few seconds…

He stopped to rub the palm of his hand onto the patch to scratch the itch that had appeared a few minutes before hand. Subconsciously his right hand slid behind him and felt the wooden stake at the small of his back. He sighed and continued on towards his hotel when he heard the beginning sounds of a struggle.

He knew that he was in Metropolis, and not Sunnydale. He knew that the likelihood of the assailants being vampires was nil. He knew that his luck wouldn't let it be anything but. His faith in his luck held, for there were three sets of golden eyes and forehead ridges in the alley. There was also a blond blue eyed woman in a position that Xander would have criticized on a newbie slayer.

The old Harris luck is one of the strongest forces in the universe, not that Xander could do anything about this. He would probably hear about refusing to go with at least one slayer with him for three months. But there was not else to do but hope that the leeches in the alley were fledglings. That and some member of the 'Spandex Fashion Disaster Club' as Buffy had named them swooped in.

"Hey, I'm from out of town, and I was wondering if you could help me?" Xander said in his most annoying of voices. "See, I was wondering around after having a few drinks and couldn't help but noticing the dust in the air."

The three vamps looked puzzled at each other until the closest one to Xander suddenly burst into a cloud of dust that was quickly spread as Xander dove through it, tackling the second. A quick one two combo to the downed vampire's head was followed up with a stake to the heart, and a whoosh of dust. Xander scrambled up turning and realized that his advantage of surprise was used up.

This time he was the recipient of a charge, which didn't take him to the ground, but fully into the brick wall behind him. He clutched onto the stake as hard as he could so he wouldn't lose it. Xander knew he had to think fast to buy himself some time. More importantly to buy the woman time to run.

"Do you know who I am?"

He was rewarded with the dumb puzzled look from the vamp, "Huh, yeah, my next meal!"

"Nope, hate to break it to you, but that would be the worse thing to do. Let me tell you something. You may frighten college girls and winos, but I grew up in Sunnydale. I was there the day it went down. I stared down Angelus without a weapon or back up. I regularly mocked William the Bloody. I helped lay the smack down on Glorificus. Taking me out would be the second quickest way to make sure you are dust."

The vampire's grasp loosened as he started to laugh. "You almost said that convincingly. Trying to make me think you are one of the Slayers group. That is rich." At this point the vampire let go with one hand, but the other still help him to the wall like a vice. "The only person like that is a one eyed..." He looked at Xander's face. The vampire's face dropped from his game face to a more human one. "Oh, shit. You are the freaking White Knight…"

He was interrupted by a voice from the head of the alley. "So, anyone here need my help?"

The vamp turned his head. This was the opening that Xander was looking for. A flick of his arm dropped a vial of holy water into his hand, which he then splashed onto the side of the vamps noggin. Xander regained his balance on the ground as the vampire thrashed about.

As the vampire recovered, so did Xander. Xander squared to the vamp, stake out front and ready for action. Not that he saw any action that he was involved in. A blue and red blur streaked in front of him as the leech lunged forward. There was the crack of a thunderous fist meeting bone as the undead entity flew backwards further into the alley. Xander noticed that the hair on the figure in front of him was long and blond and not short and black, meaning that this was Supergirl, and not Superman. This was a relief in some aspects, as he was used with dealing with super strong girls, especially blond ones, though it did seem that her hair color was all natural.

He snapped out of his ruminations as the vamp roared as it sprang up. It barely got forward momentum when Xander slipped a cross out of his inside jacket pocket and held it forth as he slipped in front of the 'Girl of Steel'. It was almost humorous to see the demon stopping dead in its tracks at the sight of the object. Well, it would have been if Xander hadn't seen it many, many, many times before. 

Sighing again, she put his stake back in the sheath at the small of his back and turned towards the costumed heroine. "Did you make sure the girl that ran out of here was okay?"

"What?"

Xander shook his head at the shock for the member of the spandex crowd before him. "The girl that the vamps were looking to make a happy meal, did you make sure she was okay? Did you make sure that she was safe before you came to the aid of someone that could handle the situation?"

"Uh, yeah, she was fine, she was pointing towards you in here needing help," she stuttered in response.

Xander was starting to rub his patch again. "We should find her and make sure she is okay and gets home okay. If there were three fledglings running around, there could easily be more, if not a master lurking somewhere in the city." He looks her up and down and then squarely into her eyes. "The last thing we need is for one of you to get turned. Four times your strength, speed, not to mention your invulnerability; I shudder to think how we would have to take you down," Xander said offhandedly as he moved past the sentinel in front of him.

Again the world played another joke on the sad sack of Xander Harris, he thought. Being around probably the largest concentration of what one would call hot females in the world stole from him what most men would envy, being that close to a paragon of womanhood that Supergirl was and her attention on you while not trying to beat you up. At the head of the alley, Xander turned to Supergirl again. "She went this way, right?" Xander questioned pointing towards the direction he was originally heading.

Supergirl nodded, and then caught up to her senses. "Wait! Where are you going? What about those three men that you killed?" she queried as she blurred and then grabbed Xander.

Xander fixed his eye on hers. "Let. Me. Go. Now. Those were not men. Well, at least not any more. Those were vampires. They were already dead. I was simply severing the connection that the demon inhabiting their bodies."

"Right, I don't know who you are, or what you are trying to pull, but…" she wasn't able to finish her statement before Xander broke in.

"I am Alexander Lavelle Harris, and if you use the middle name I don't care if you are invulnerable, I will find a way to hunt you down and make what Kr'aka'thikan parents do to their children look like something that you can put on a PBS kiddy show. I am head of field operations for the Reformed Council of Watchers. I have been fighting vampires, demons, hell gods, ascended Old Ones for going on ten years now. In high school we had to come up with the plural for apocalypse. I have fought on my own, and I have commanded hundreds. I am the Zeppo, the one with out powers, the one forbidden to fight, but yet I still do. By my enemies, I have been called the White Knight, and The One That Sees. I am just a man with no powers, with now special training, and I am just behind the slayer in the list of what demon mothers tell their unruly children what will get them if they don't behave." Supergirl began to shrink like she hadn't since Martha Kent got onto a good roll about her being out late without calling. "I am not trying to pull anything. I am part of the first, last, and only defense this planet has put up to stop this certain tide of evil. If you want to go into it, I am part of a lineage that has been fighting this war since we were in caves. If we win, then we get to fight again, and if we lose, then if we are lucky, someone else gets to pick it up, if not, then game over."

Kara felt like a scolded child that had been caught playing adult at the wrong time. The man in front of her couldn't have been older than twenty-five, but the mere pressure of his demeanor cowered her even more than being in a room alone with Batman. "And if this was a set up by your friends that I am meeting tomorrow, I will deal with them then."

Xander turned and strode to his hotel. He had some calls to make.

Kr'aka'thikan parents tend to dress up their young in clothing resembling Victorian era baby clothes. No, not much of a threat, but it does sound impressive, though if one thinks of it the results from outdoing it could be highly embarrassing.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer in the first chapter.

Xander was still fuming when he walked into his hotel room. He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket, and discarded his jacket on the table next to the door. He touched the runestone that he had brought along. He and magick still were of the bad, but he could make use of some objects without a problem. The runestone made the hotel room proof against vampires in the way a residence would. It took them some looking, but one of the researchers found it in a book of Scandinavian lore. Seems the Norse in their journeys figured out a way to ward their tents against vampires, so now the stones were standard for all members of the council while traveling.

He flipped open the phone and hit the quick call. He started pacing while he waited for it to ring. It was answered on the second ring. "Secure line this. Request authentication Zebra, Echo, Papa, Papa, Omega… Forget it. Roxie, this is Xander, lock this line down three ways to Sunday and get me Buffy."

Xander was sure he heard a giggle on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, but if you don't have the full authentication code, then I will have to terminate the call."

"Roxie, if you don't get Buffy on the line right now, I will let it slip out that there is no ice cream in the castle for the next two weeks is because of you."

"I am connecting you to Buffy now," was the hurried response.

Xander smirked, he might not be the top boogieman for demons, but he was for most of the new slayers that they had found, especially those that were bunked at the castle. He sat on the couch and leaned back while waiting for Buffy to pick up.

"Xan," queried a sleepy sounding Buffy, "I know I am not one to chastise you about this, but there is a thing called time zones. That makes it eight hours earlier here… or something like that? I can't remember from the last time that Giles yelled at me for it."

"Sorry Buff, but this is serious. I may need a small strike group put together for Metropolis. I ran across three vamps on the way back to the hotel. From the way they acted, they were either fledglings, or really dumb. Either way, I don't see how they could party for any length of time in this town without coming to some ones attention. I would feel better if we had a team come in, do a sweep and nip anything in the bud that might be popping up. No one made mention of a master, but better safe than sorry."

Xander could hear Buffy nodding on the other end. "I'll call Cleveland and have them send a unit there, if there isn't a roving squad in the area. Any one in particular you want there?"

"Not Faith, too many high key people are here and pay attention. We can keep her on call if things go south. Check to see if Vi and her squad are available. They're pretty good at keeping attention down and getting things handled in a timely fashion, one or two of the mystical or psychic add-ons if they aren't running with any. I don't want go overkill if it isn't needed, but I don't want them hanging in the wind either. That should about do it. I'll give you a call after the meeting tomorrow," Xander finished up.

"So what else is bothering you, and don't say nothing. I know you well enough to know that something has sent you into a hissyfit."

"I'm not having a hissyfit. I am hissyfit free. I don't have them anyways. I am a guy; we don't have hissyfits. Well, except Andrew and I think his guy card got pulled long ago."

"Xan, what's wrong? I can be there in a few minutes if you…"

"It's nothing, Buff. I had a run in with one of the caped crowd. She came in while I was handling the last vamp, tried to get in between us, but froze when fang face popped up and charged after she knocked him down. He was in full game face and diving at her. I know we have started thinking of worse case scenarios, but I didn't want one happening because of me. I dusted the bastard in front of her, and then she had the gall to try and pull a high and mighty on me because I dusted three vamps…"

"Xan, listen to me. They run around a play hero. We fight a never ending war. I don't care what someone in a cape and underwear says; you did the right thing. Do you need me to come there and help comfort you? You know that I wouldn't mind."

"Buffy, I know… And part of me would love that."

"And I bet I know what part that is."

"Well, yeah, that too. But we need someone in command at home. I'll bring you something nice, maybe a snow globe or something. You know there are some places here that sell some fancy clothes."

"And I know that Dawn gave you all of my sizes in everything, so you can pick me up something," he heard her beam from across the Atlantic. "Maybe I will even model something for you."

"I hope so. Go on back to bed. I am going to try and get some sleep here. I'll give you a holler when I get done with the spandex set."

"Night, night, pleasant dreams."

"Night, Buffy."

Sleep didn't come easy, nor was it restful. Too many dreams of the unpleasant variety plagued him, and here he had no one to talk them out with. He gave up the somnambulistic struggle at five in the morning and took a long shower. He just hoped that no one in a primary color would decide to play the high and mighty perfection card today. He knew that was too much to ask.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yea, though I walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for I am the baddest motherfucker in the whole damn valley," Xander repeated for the third time in the mirror. He looked back at himself and saw a man in his mid-twenties looking back. The black suit was tailored well to him. He had Buffy and Dawn to thank for that. The patch matched the suit, as did the tie. The white shirt set everything off. His daily affirmation done for the day, he picked up the briefcase and turned to leave the room. He would like for nothing else but to go to the airport and head for Scotland. Scotland was nice, and the people there that could rip your arms off were either your friends, or afraid of what you would do in retribution.

Xander let go of the breath that he didn't realize that he had been holding. There was nothing he could do; too many people were counting on this meeting. He still didn't understand why Giles wasn't here for this meeting. Giles was the diplomat; Giles was the one that handled all high level talks. Xander shook his head as he made sure that the door to his room was shut. He didn't know exactly who the Justice League was going to send to meet him, or how he was going to be received, for that matter. He was sure that at least a few of the original seven would probably be there. Even he would understand that it was a major snub if that were not the case.

Xander assumed his best power stride as he walked the hall to the elevator. He waited impatiently for the car to whisk him to the lobby. He had a half hour to make it the three blocks to the Metropolis office that was holding the meeting. This was not a problem. He had walked the route four times yesterday, timing each trip and going with the average, he would have a ten minute cushion. He didn't have to push himself to make it, but he knew that his nerves would bump up the relaxed pace that he set yesterday. Thinking about yesterday led to last night, and that put a bad taste into Xander's mouth. He hoped that it wouldn't color his attitude today, but he wasn't too sure about it. His other fear is that it would color the capes view of him and his girls.

Heck, he knew they would know what hotel he was at. He was half expecting a welcoming committee in the lobby to show him the proper way to talk to them, and then send him back to Scotland with a message about how the others were to act. He growled as he hit the pavement and began the trek. He knew that some people in the League were normal humans like he was, but just trained and lucky. Well, trained, lucky, and with equipment that would set back a slayers food bill for a year. The League had some of the biggest and brightest with them, that is what Xander's problem was. The best and the brightest minds in the world, or worlds if you counted the extraterrestrial members, and no one, no one at all had figured out what was going down in Sunnydale. One visit a month could have culled the vampiric hordes, decimated the demonic denizens, and gutted the godlings. That was not the case. Years of struggle to prevent the end of the world while going to school and pulling odd jobs and double shifts just because someone didn't run an algorithm.

He growled as he reached the doorway of the office building. He knew that he had to keep the full head of steam that had built up on the way here on the inside where it wouldn't affect the meeting. He pulled a letter from his inside coat pocket, looked at it to verify the suite number and the queued up for the elevator ride. He scanned the crowd twice. He didn't expect to see anyone in costume, but he had memorized the facial features that were shown from underneath the masks and cowls. No one stood out as obvious, but that didn't mean anything. Finally, he was able to get into an elevator and soon he was on the floor of the meeting.

He soon realized that the suite that he was supposed to be in was the entire floor. He was the only one to step out of the elevator. He recognized the uncomfortable looks that others gave him when they realized what floor the elevator stopped on. Either they didn't like the tenants of this floor, or they realized that they had misjudged the man that got out. Xander really didn't care which it was, because now was the moment of truth. He walked up to the receptionist, and cleared his throat. As she looked up she had a puzzled look on her face.

"What's the opposite of diamic?"

Without thinking Xander answered, "Demonic."

"Oh, thanks. That finishes the crossword puzzle for today." She looked up and looked him up and down. "How may I help you?"

Xander put on a half smile on his face, "I have an appointment here at ten."

"Oh, Mister Harris, you are being expected."

Xander shook his head, "Mister Harris was my father, and I never want to be reminded of him. Call me Xander, or if you must Alexander."

The secretary nodded and jotted something down. In his mind Xander noted how no matter whom you were, when a secretary noted something when you corrected her, and you didn't see what it was, bothered you. She smiled softly at him. "Can I get you something while you wait? Coffee, tea?"

"No thank you, it might be too much for my nerves," responded Xander.

She chuckled slightly, her chest rising and falling as she did. "Please take a seat; someone will be with you in a moment."

Xander took a seat and looked around. He glanced at the magazines and saw the same selection as he would at a doctor's office. This helped cement the thought pattern of that all offices got the magazines from the same supplier. Xander resisted the urge to look at the time on his cell phone, and he didn't see any clock in the reception area.

Xander knew it was after his ten o'clock appointment. His sense of time wasn't that bad. "Either something has come up, or they are seeing how well I wait," he mumbled to himself. He was starting to regret not having the coffee or tea that was offered, but he would just have to soldier on without anything. He had already been through the magazines, and there was nothing interesting to look at in the office. He was about to stand up and ask the receptionist when someone would be with him when a door at the other end of the room.

Xander had never been adverse to fishnets, and today he wasn't going to start, especially when said fishnets were encasing the legs of a buxom blonde. Xander nodded to her and stood up. He ticked off the name of Black Canary in his head from the dossier that had been compiled for him. She was the current chairperson of the Justice League. With her coming to meet him, that did bode well for the meeting. It also sent his 'Sunnydale' sense into overdrive because nothing that started well would stay that way in his experience.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer in first Chapter

Author's Notes: This takes place after the new JLA start and JSA #4. Some things in the DCU have been altered for my benefit, and how I think it should go.

Xander followed behind Black Canary as she made her ways from the nice, but sparsely decorated hall to the meeting room that had been assigned to them. He walked closely to her, but respected her personal area. The main reason he walked close to her was, perhaps, not obvious. It wasn't to get close to a beautiful woman. He worked shoulder to shoulder with arguably some of the most beautiful women in the world day in and day out. No, he walked close so he wouldn't be concentrating on her legs and ass as she walked down the hall. He didn't need that image in his head during the meeting, or in negotiations.

Upon entering the room, Xander felt a bit odd, but the sensation passed quickly enough. He looked around and saw the long conference table in front of him. Three pitchers of water were spaced evenly down its length along with disposable cups. The room like everything else was spartanly decorated. It was different than he was used to. Most of the Watchers rooms and the other organizations that he had met with or briefed had been old when America was founded, and they had the stuff to convince most people decorating the walls, if the cut stone and old hardwood paneling wasn't enough to support their claims.

The blandness of the conference room was set off by the others in the room. A tall dark haired Amazon, the word was not a description but her lineage, dressed in a red, white and blue outfit topped off with a tiara and metal bracers. Xander often wondered why people insisted on calling them bracelets when the length suggested that they were bracers, but he quickly drove that discussion out of his head. The other woman was a statuesque blond. She was dressed in a white bodysuit with a quite revealing opening exposing her upper chest, a red cape, and blue gloves and boots. The most striking part of her look, Xander instantly decided where her piercing blue eyes. The thought that sprang through his head was they were as light and Cordy's were dark. He sighed as he drove the thought of his ex from his head, along with what he wanted to do to Angel for letting what happened to her.

Xander nodded to the two women that were already in the room and then to Black Canary as he staked a chair at the end of the table, "Ladies, shall we begin?"

He sat, opened his briefcase and then looked over the top of it to the shocked faces in the room. He chalked up a point in his tally and sighed outwardly. "Ladies, I am sure that you didn't intend for this to happen this way, but I am a firm believer in equal rights. I am constantly surrounded by strong beautiful women that could break me in half. Not to mention that when they get bored, they, more times than not, hold 'Let's embarrass Xander' contests. This," Xander motioned around the room and at the three gathered with him, "is a mild normal meeting as to surroundings.

"So, shall we get down to brass tacks? I haven't looked at my watch, but I know you waited until after the time we were supposed to begin. Which noticing the lack perspiration and battle grime, it doesn't seem like you were busy. Another option is that this meeting isn't important to you, so you are just wasting my time as well as yours. A third option is that you were seeing how well I waited." Xander fixed his eye on Black Canary, "That would not have been a wise thing to do. When I wait, I get grumpy. When I get grumpy, I get confrontational, and when that happens, things get broken."

Xander looked around the room again and smiled, "Truthfully it is usually some part of my body, but still, something does get broken. So please, sit, and let us talk."

The stunned women sat down and began to shuffle papers with chagrin. Black Canary finally spoke, "I'd like to go ahead and introduce Wonder Woman and Power Girl."

Xander nodded to Wonder Woman, "Your highness, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. A lot of the girls look up to you."

"Thank you, I will say right away, that I am somewhat dubious of this meeting. The Amazons have had dealings with your council in olden times…"

Xander raised his hand to stop her speaking. The look on her face was one of regal disdain, "Who you dealt with is not my council. Heck, even this isn't my council. I just help make sure people are where they need to be and that they have back up. In case current events are not your forte, the old Watchers Council was blown apart four years ago by agents of someone trying to eliminate the slayer line. No one did anything about it. It is handled now, but do not even think that we are anything like the luddites that you are thinking about. If you even think that I would put one of my girls through the hell and abandonment that the Watchers but their charges through, then we have a problem."

Black Canary cleared her throat to break the hostile silence that had started to settle on the room. "Well, let's start discussing some of the points that we perceive as problems, shall we?"

"Well, I think the main thing that we would like to work out is assistance during Apocalypse season," Xander said nonchalantly.

"Apocalypse season?" questioned Power Girl. "I didn't know that there was a season for it."

Nodding Xander responded, "Pretty much every May since I have known about the supernatural, it is end of the world. Sure sometimes it happens during the other times of the year, but May is busy season. We have started being more proactive than reactive, but it is still a bear. If we knew we could rely on back up from some of you, then that would help a lot."

"Well, I am sure that you have stopped some apocalypses, but, to be honest we do things like that every week, if not day," Black Canary pointed out.

"I don't think that you understand what I mean. I am not talking about someone trying to take over the world. I am not talking about some glorified thief stealing rare gems. Nor am I bringing up aliens wanting to conquer us for whatever reason. I am talking about the forces of whatever hell dimension that gets the shot to open up the gates and let flow the forces of the damned making this a paradise on earth for the hell crowd.

"I thought your circle would know a bit more about this, but I guess I am wrong. Let me bring up with how we start with those not in the know." Xander's voice dropped to a hushed, tutorial tone, "This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, and certain creatures. The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding, killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind, waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return.

"The reason behind their loss of purchase is the slayer. Wonder Woman probably knows part, or a version of what the slayer is."

Wonder Woman nodded, "She is a chosen of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. She hunts those things that hunt humanity in the dark. They are always young, but fight with a knowledge beyond their age. I have been told it is to see poetry in motion to watch one fight."

"The poetry part is true. To use what was told to us about the slayer when we first found out about the slayer, it goes as, 'In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.' That was true till three years ago. The First Evil, well that is what it called itself; decided it was time to end the slayer line. What it truly was is up to debate by people with better brains than mine. It held within its control the Turok-Han, which are an ancient breed of vampires, and the Bringers. Don't ask about the bringers, I still haven't gotten an exact answer to whether they were demons or corrupted humans.

"Anyway, we were at limited resources, outnumbered, outgunned, outmaneuvered, but we always were. So we went to the well again, for all we knew the last time. He had to be stopped, and there was no one else to do it but us. We may not have done the best resolution, but we did the only one that we thought as viable at the time. Using an ancient weapon of the slayer our uberwiccan cast a spell that activated all of the potential slayers in the world. Luckily we had about twenty of them in the pit at the time."

The shock on the women's faces was plain to see. Wonder Woman was the first to respond, "And where were you? What would you have done if the spell didn't work?"

Xander fixed her with a cold stare, "Playing high guard in the building above them in case anything got out, and protecting the sister of the Slayer Prime. As it was, we had our hands full with the bringers. The slayers in the pit had a better loss ratio than we did. My ex-fiancé died protecting her partner, and another one was touch and go for a long while after being gutted.

"We have all lost something in this war. The only thing we have gotten from it is pain and suffering and the promise of total annihilation if we don't win next time. We aren't heroes except to each other. We are warriors and soldiers in a war that can't be won, but must be fought, and when the last of us dies, then humanity loses.

"So what we would like from you and yours is back up when we absolutely need it. The problems might start when you tell me what you want from us. There are some things that are nonnegotiable."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer in Chapter 1

There was a palpable silence in the conference room as Xander scanned the three women with his one good eye. He had caught them off guard. In the back of his mind he was doing the Snoopy dance, but he didn't let that play on his face. His eye rested, not on Black Canary, or on Wonder Woman, but on Power Girl. He locked his eye on hers, and smiled slightly.

Turning his attention back to the gathering in general, "Look, I know that it isn't everyday that an organization with over two thousand trained fighters with metahuman attributes knocks on the door from out of the blue, but there has to be something that you have thought of."

Black Canary nodded, "We would like some oversight, a way to know that you aren't just militarizing your people for a takeover of somewhere. Also, the idea of trained back up does have merit. From what we have gathered, your 'slayers', while having metahuman abilities, aren't in the class that most of the community. Add in the factor that most of the people in your organization is attractive and female, well, the use of them as crowd control does come to mind. That is if they can behave themselves."

Xander nodded at the last comment. "I would have to put a list together of the ones that could handle that, but that is very doable. With the oversight, if we can make it both ways, then I don't see too much of a problem. I am sure that there are some things that you wouldn't want us to know and verse vicea. It would be appreciative if it is someone with either mystical or tactical knowledge. Not only would it help the learning curve, but also the exchange of ideas would be beneficial for all groups."

Xander sighed as his eye socket started to itch, again. He tried to ignore it. The thought of tending to the uncomfortable feeling in front of the women gave him the willpower to resist tending to it. He knew he was going to do something that would put him out of the comfort zone, but he was pushing his luck already for not doing it.

Before he had a chance to say or do anything, Black Canary spoke up. "Well, I think that we have progressed quicker than we thought we would, and it is lunch time. How about we break for lunch and resume afterwards." Seeing Xander's nod she smiled, "You can have lunch in our cafeteria."

"I checked the directory and the floor plans of the building. It doesn't have a cafeteria."

Black Canary touched a button on the table and the walls pulled up to show a view of the Earth from orbit. "No, that building didn't, but the Watchtower does," she responded with, appropriately a 'cat that ate the canary' smile.

Xander shook his head to get back from the view. He pulled out his cell and held it out. "I bet I don't have a signal here, do I?"

"Not unless you have the Universal Freedom plan from your provider," answered the fishnet clad blond.

"I need to get to a communications system that can contact Earth."

"I'm sure that you can be out of touch for a little bit…"

"Out of contact, yes, but if signal is totally lost, then the fail safes kick in. Did we make the transition when we walked into this room?"

"Yes, that is where the side step transporter was located."

"Side step, nice name, which puts us at thirty minutes, give or take, we need to hurry to that communicator."

"What's the importance of the communicator?" asked Wonder Woman.

"There are members of the Council that, if they are out of contact, in a way that is not prearranged, will trigger certain responses. Right now, I am being tracked down with mystical measures, work on a gate to my location is being prepared, and three assault squads of slayers are ready to roll. They may or may not have been told not to hit the outside walls. If I walk through that door, will I be back on Earth?"

"No, that location is a one way transfer. Follow me," said Black Canary as she strode through the door.

Luckily Xander had ten years worth of following Buffy either on patrol, shopping, or… Well, patrol or shopping, that seemed to be the only time she was in a hurry. He was able to keep up with Canary into the communication center. "I need a com line to the Watcher's Council, now!"

There was a red blur in the room and almost instantly there was a Please Wait message on the large screen at the front of the room. Seconds past, and the individuals in the room saw what appeared to be a war room in full preparedness. There was not a passive face on the screen.

Xander stepped forward, "Hey, Becks, it's okay, they didn't know that their little flash and show would trigger this. Chill on the We Have to Save Xander Again Contingency plan."

The brunette in the front of the screen nodded, and then looked back over her shoulder. Shouts could be heard coming from off camera. A petite blond burst into the focus area of the camera. "Xan…"

"Buff, I'm okay. They teleported me up to the satellite, they didn't know about our precautions. Plus, we might want to look into getting one of these things. Going through unawares is much easier on the system than gating unawares."

"Okay, Mister. You know that we still have to go through the authentication process," Buffy said with a smirk.

"No, Buffy, we don't."

"Per Xander's Rules…"

"And I am Xander, and I will amend them this time… Please, Buff, I will make it up to you."

"Prada."

"Not in the budget this quarter, you know that. How about Payless?"

"Like Hell. Jimmy Choo."

"Next swanky meet and greet, I'll take your place."

"Oh, now we are negotiating. Plus, you will wear the Armani suit."

"Of course, Xander looks good in Armani."

Buffy could be seen to turn her head from the camera, "Okay, girls, stand down, it's him and he's okay." Turning back to the camera, "You better bring me something nice because of all the trouble you put me through."

"Yeah, trouble… like having to take off the avocado facial early?"

"What? No, I mean… How could you tell?"

Xander pointed to his right cheek. "Talk to you later, Buffster."

"Bye Xander."

Xander watched the main screen flip back to multiple news feeds. "Well, I guess that disaster has been diverted." Xander turned towards the three women, "You said something about lunch?"

"Uh, yeah… I'll get someone to take you to the cafeteria."

"Well, I was wondering if Power Girl wouldn't mind showing me the way," Xander hedged.

Wonder Woman and Black Canary looked at each other, and then at Power Girl, who shrugged. "I don't have any plans. Sure, why not?"

The smile that came onto Xander's face and into his one eye was infectious enough to start painting it onto Power Girl's lips also. He made an elaborate bow, and presented his arm to her. A slight blush crossed her cheeks as she took his arm, and then left the room.

As the door closed Black Canary turned to the techs in the room. "I want all that we have on him, and I want it now, something is not right." She looked up and called out to the air, "J'onn, what did you get from him."

The green Martian rose from the floor, "He is a very unique person. It was difficult to get into his mind to begin with. It was like there were residues of other people in his mind. I had to work out what was him and what was the residue."

"So he is possessed or something?" inquired the blond.

The Martian tilted his head slightly, "No, in the past perhaps, but not currently. The other interesting thing is that his mind is perfectly split in two, separate, but connected halves."

"So what did you find out about their operations?"

"That is the most interesting thing." There was a long pause while it seemed the Martian tried to control his shape. "I couldn't get to it without him knowing. There are blocks and mental countermeasures that are most elegant, and unlike any that I have come across. They may, in part, be mystical, but they are also psychic in nature."

Canary had a half smile on her face, "Like he came prepared in case we read his mind. Some trust factor there."

Wonder Woman shook her head, "No, I don't think it was there to prevent us, but to prevent anyone, or thing from doing so." Black Canary and the Martian Manhunter both gave her their attention, "They are in a fight with things not of this plane. Dark, evil things that seek to usurp this existence. If you know your enemies plans, tactics, strategies, strengths and weaknesses then your victory is all but assured. If what he says is true, with no powers or abilities, then he would be the most likely target. It would be irresponsible for them not to do such things to him."

Black Canary sighed again, "You're right, Diana, but it just makes things more complicated."

A grunt was heard from the shadows of the communication room, and the Batman strode from the shadows into the corridor.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimers for this already exist, so lay off.

-

Power Girl paused at the viewing windows; the Earth hung in black space. A small blue, brown, white marble poised in the inky void, the Sun's rays could be seen beaming past the satellite. "It seems so small and fragile from here," commented Xander. "I have spent so much time fighting to protect it from come what may that I haven't really had a chance to take time to look at it, especially from this perspective."

Xander sighed and slowly sunk into one of the chairs scattered among the observation area. Puzzled Power Girl followed his example. "I've been doing this for eleven years. For the longest time they tried to keep me out of it since I was the 'normal' one. No powers, no calling, just someone standing up and fighting the good fight. Sure, it started off wanting to spend time with the pretty girl, that and fighting against what killed one of my best friends, but that only lasts so long. After that… After that it was something I couldn't turn away from. I accepted full well that I was going to an early grave, but I couldn't turn my back on the fight. It's not that I was looking forward to the next fight; I wasn't. I just knew that if it wasn't me, there might not be anyone."

Xander turned towards Power Girl. The pain and tiredness in his eye physically struck her. "I am glad that you are here, though."

"R-really?" was all that she could stutter in response.

Xander nodded. "There used to be only one Slayer, and a large organization behind her. Now, the organization is small and the slayers are plentiful. We have a lot of girls that are still learning to be what they are. We are training them the best that we can, but we only have so many trained fighters that can keep up with them. I know that the JSA is taking in 'legacy' heroes, heroines, super people, whatever. Training them, getting them in their happy place with who and what they are. I was, well, we, that is the Council, was wondering if, maybe we could work something out with you on helping us train some of them.

"Before you ask why the JSA, and not the League; the JSA fought in World War Two. They know what it is like to be in a war. They understand, that sometimes, there is no other solution but to terminate your enemy before they do it to you," Xander said getting quiet. "What we do is not easy. It would be nice for the girls to know that there are others out there that have gone through some of the same things. We have some of the girls that go through a hard time going to nursing homes that have veterans in them. We've found that while it's not the same, the experiences are similar sometimes. Plus, I think that the old guys like to have the girls around."

Xander caught the smirk on Power Girl's lips. "Not like that… Well, maybe some of them, but not most. Most of them are in the homes with no one to see them. Like they have been put on the shelf and forgotten. In the girls, they see why they fought, that their losses did serve a purpose, and that they aren't forgotten."

"So, old soldiers never die, they just have hyper teenage girls around?" quipped Power Girl.

"Something like that, so, will you at least bring it up to them?"

"I don't think that it will be a problem. So, still want to get a bite to eat?"

Xander smiled roguishly, "Food is one of the few things that I am always ready for."

* * *

Xander polished off the plate of nachos. He kept looking suspiciously at Power girl as she ate her salad. "You know that I am around super powered women all the time. I know their metabolism needs more than that. You don't have to be dainty around me."

Power Girl chuckled, "I don't need much when it comes to food, mysterious visitor from an alien planet and all that. My powers come from how my body stores solar energy. My metabolism isn't highly revved. Well, normally, that is. Sometimes I do eat a lot, but that is usually after something highly strenuous physically."

After she had made the statement she blushed as Xander raised his right eyebrow. "I did not mean it like that, so get your mind out of there," she said forcing a scowl on her face with only half success.

Xander smirked at her, and then sighed. He missed things like this. He had it once, twice, if truth be told. With Cordy it was like this, innocent things that could be double entendres slipping out, and then slipping into a broom closet, or behind the stacks. Then again with Anya, but no double entendres for her, no, out and out exactly what she wanted, but the result was the same, a connection with another person like he hadn't experienced in a long time. He knew that mixing business and pleasure was a bad idea, especially when it came to the type of business in which both of them were involved.

"Hello, Ground Control to Xander," Power Girl said as she waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you okay? You seemed to totally zone out on me there."

Shaking the wool that he had just gathered from his mind he put on his smile again, "Yeah, just thinking of things long ago. So, do you have any idea how much longer we have until they want to start back up?"

"No clue, want to continue on with the tour?"

"Sounds like a plan," responded Xander as he stood up and extended his hand to Power Girl.

As the two walked from the cafeteria a lone figure in the shadows was met by another. "So, are you snooping on them for a reason, or just to be a pain?"

"Don't start Ollie. He just doesn't add up. Something is missing about him, and I am going to find out what."

Green Arrow watched as Batman slunk away from him, following the chairwoman of the JSA, and the visitor to the station. "It only adds up if not all of it is true."

The comment gave Batman pause. "Look, I am not saying that he has told us one hundred percent of the whole story, but we don't do that either. You wonder how a barely passing high school student ends up in a driving seat of a group like this. Other people would wonder how two playboys end up in costumes jumping from building to building at night. Answer to both of them, not all of the information is known.

"We have hidden parts of ours, or left it out when we were questioned about it long ago, and we were people of interest that others liked to know about. What could have happened to someone that no one cared about? That went under the radar of who knows how much? You want to know everything about him, but are you willing to let him know everything about you?"

He heard the grunt from the Dark Knight, "I'm not saying be his buddy, but he hasn't done anything wrong. From what we can find out about Sunnydale, he was one of the few that knew the score and tried to do something about it. Hell, we didn't even know what was going on there. We got reports and totally glossed over the death rates, not to mention the missing people reports from that town. I've seen that look on veterans that came back from 'Nam. He's trying to keep from losing it, and so far, it seems that he has done a much better job than some of our compatriots have from time to time."

"Okay," grumbled Batman, "I won't pry, but I am going to keep my eye on him."

"I wouldn't expect anything else," he said as the Cowled Crusader disappeared around the corner.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Same as it has ever been; same as it has ever been.

Author's Notes: I am not one hundred percent happy with this chapter, and it may have a re-write later. I wanted to get it down before the muse left me again, and the plot bunnies from another story overtook this one.

* * *

Xander took a moment to excuse his self and headed to the restroom. As he stood in front of the urinal, a nagging sensation in the base of his skull would not be ignored any longer. It was a left over trait that any Sunnydale Survivor had, the sensation to know when someone that you couldn't see was watching you. It was amazing how much stealthy people, and Xander had learned to use the term loosely, give themselves away by the vibes they give off. Xander sighed as the amber liquid coursed from its reservoir, he wondered when his stalker was going to make itself known, and then the lights went out.

Xander checked his breathing and calmed his heart rate as he kept an even stream going till he finished. He knew that this was unavoidable, if the intelligence that they had gathered had been anywhere near accurate. "Okay Batman, nice execution, but really, accosting someone in the restroom isn't good if you have any plans on public office," quipped Xander.

Xander smirked at the slight growl that came out of the darkness as he zipped up his fly. He knew he had scored a point in his scoring system, and that was enough for him, but not as much as he decided to go for. "So, could you turn the lights back on? I would like to wash my hands, hygiene and all that. Not all of us wander around in a rubber suit."

At the sound of a hand clenching hard in a glove, Xander chalked up another point in his mental tally. "So, are you just going to stand there breathing hard, in a skin tight rubber and leather suit, or are you actually going to get down to what you want to do? Cause, I tell you, this anticipation thing works wonders in books and movies, but real life, not so much." With that, Xander felt the movement as he was lifted up off the ground and pressed to the wall. Not that he minded much at all. On his score card, he had won the match. Luckily for him his previous experiences muted the impressive style of the self styled Dark Knight. Xander knew that he wouldn't use excessive force on him; it would tarnish his image among his allies. It was all mental, and that, Xander could handle. This was nothing compared to staring down Angelus, Spike, Adam, Glory, or even Dark Willow. Those he knew could, would, and did hurt him, but Batman was bound by his mental fetters.

"What are you doing here?" questioned the Caped Crusader.

"Oh, right now, just hanging around." With the answer Xander felt himself pulled away from the wall and pushed back against it.

"That is not what I meant. What game are you playing? Why did they send you?"

"Oh, that, well it is quite simple, really. The game is called piss off the pompous, anal-retentive, and self-pious. I am a master player at the game. I can piss off most middle class and higher English people in less than twenty seconds flat. Some have called it a gift, others a curse, but truth be told I have worked hard at it for many years. As to the reason that they sent me, the answer to that is easy. If things go belly up, then I am the least to sacrifice."

"You are no pawn. No one that expendable has the position that you have. What do you have that allows you in that crowd?"

Xander felt his face go slack. He knew that his eye was focused into the other pair in the darkness. "Faith, loyalty, doggedness, a fierceness to protect, kindness, love, tenderness, forgiveness, understanding, and compassion that is just on the surface. I'm not sure any of that means anything to you. Let me ask you a question Fliegenmaus, if you protect the city, why do you allow the Big Bads to come back again and again to terrorize the people?"

Xander was dropped to the floor. "What do you mean?"

Xander smirked, "You wind up fighting the same people again and again. They keep killing and stealing and causing havoc on your watch, and yet you do nothing to stop them, just delay them for the time being. How much blood is on your hands from the innocents that have died? You do illegal things all the time in your 'investigations'. Breaking and entering, coercion of information, illegal search and seizure, assault, the list just goes on, yet you are one of the good guys. Have you ever wondered how many people you have 'put away' are released because of your actions? You fight for truth and justice, but disregard the procedures of the justice system. You yourself create a revolving door in Gotham for the low level thugs. They are the ones more likely to involve themselves with the day to day life of the citizenry.

"We recognize that. That is why we constantly patrol the areas that we cover and stop the vamps from getting a foothold. We go on the offensive when we find them massing. We eliminate them, and neutralize anything major that they are planning, especially if it involves opening up a bigger evil. Are we always successful? No, but we make up for it when we don't get there quick enough. That and we know that it is a war we are in. It is a kill or be killed fight that we fight. There are eighteen year old girls out there that make more life or death decisions in a night than you do in a month, and because of her hundreds of people are still alive, unharmed, and blissfully ignorant of the world as it truly is."

Xander stepped around the black clad man and moved towards the light that was struggling against the door frame. "If you will now excuse me, I have a tour to complete with a much more charming host than yourself."


End file.
